Method of packaging



Nov. 20, 1951 E, F, CADMUS l 2,575,580

` METHOD oF PACKAGING 14, '1949 2 sHEETs-sHEET 1 WMM/M Nov. 20, 1951 E, F, CADMUS" 2,575,580

METHOD OF PACKAGING Filed Feb. 14, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 /NM/VTDR EDGAR r. CADMUS Patented Nov. 20, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF PACKAGING E dgar F. Cadmus, Portland, Oreg.

Application February 14, 1949i, Serial No. 76,300

`14 Claims.

This. invention relates to an improved method of wrapping articles to form a carton or container about a plurality of the articles.

The common procedure in packaging articles is.y usually to provide rst an adequate supply of prefabricated cartons and then ll the cartons with the articles. This method of packaging is inefficient because it usually requires a separate plant and machinery to make the cartons and space to store a reserve supply of empty cartons. Considerable handling is entailed in moving the empty cartons from their point of manufacture to a temporary storage space, in again moving them from the storage space to the place where they are to be filled, and finally in filling the cartons. In order to improve upon this method of packaging, it has heretofore been proposed to perform the final assembly and filling of the carton simultaneously to avoid the storing and handling of bulky empty cartons. methods thus far developed to improve the efciency, however, require the prefabrication and handling of different parts of cartons, and in most cases there is one major part which comprises most of the finished carton and involves about as great a problem in production and handling as though the carton were completely prefabricated before lling. There is relatively small advantage in merely completing the carton at the time of filling when the prefabricated parts must first be made and handled separately prior to the final operation.

The general object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide an improved method of wrapping articles wherein the carton or container is entirely formed directly on the articles it is to contain, and in substantially one continuous operation so that when the container is completed it will be already filled and ready for disposal.

Other objects are to provide an imprgoved method of Wrapping to avoid the handling of prefabricated or partially prefabricated empty cartons, to provide a method which is essentially a continuous process suitable for application to articles such as bottles or cans moving by conveyor as they are being discharged from a bottling or canning machine, and to provide. aprocess which may be carried out entirely by mechanical apparatus coordinated with thedelivery rate of such machine.

Still other objects are to provide a method of Wrapping to form a reasonably strong package. Carton or container from relatively inexpenf. sive at sheet material such as paper, to pro- The vide a novel form of construction for such container whereby it may be formed progressively around the articles to be wrapped as they are received, to provide a form of construction which is adapted to utilize either opaque or transparent heat sealing plastic sheet materials, or plastic coated paper, to form a strong and fairly rigid container byl the novel vforming and bonding together of a pluralityY of sheets of suchmaterial as they are drawn in long strips from supply rolls, and to provide an improved form of paper carton construction which may be equipped with a handle and used as a bottle carrier and the like.

The method of the invention involves the complete fabrication of the carton or container at one time and place with nthe diiierent parts of- Y the wrapping being applied directly and progressively to the articles as they are delivered to be wrapped. The wrapping comprises a numbei'l of sheets of tough paper-like material which are drawn from rolls or other suitable sources of supply as the wrapping material is used to form the carton. The different sheets ofthe wrapping material are scored for folding and cutting as they leave their respective sources o f supply in continuous strip form, and are bonded together in a numberl of heat sealed joints which are formed successively as the wrapping is applied to additional articles which are to be included in the same package. As the wrapping and bonding operations are being completed on one package, the sheets are severed from their sources of supply at the proper times to make the strips available for starting a new package when the next articles are received for Wrapping. In the wrapping process separate pockets are formed for the articles whereby the pockets may be left open at their vtops to provide a container from which the articles may be removed individually without destroying the container, so that it may be used repeatedly as a carrying container.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description in the following specification with reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating a pre-,- ferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings: Figure 1 shows a horizontal strip of sheet material progressing from a source of supply through certain folding operations required to form the vertical central member of the container in performing the initial step of the method;

Figure 2 shows two articles placed in position with respect to the central member. and a pair ascasao Figure 6 shows the assembly of Figure 5"`in position to receive a bottom and end reinforcing member;

Figure 7 is a perspective View 'showingthe bottom of the completed container with the bottles removed; Figure 8 is a side elevation view of the container showing a handleappliedto utilize the container as a bottle carrier;V 'Q Figure 9 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of Figure 8; i n 'f YFigure Vl0 is a plan view taken on the line I Delli of Figure 9; and r4Figure 11 shows a further step involving the addition o f another member to strengthen the container for certain purposes.

Y Figures 1 to 6 illustratesy successive steps in the wrapping process to forma carrying container for Vsix bottles, or the like, without reference to equipment or machine elements which would be used in `performing the various operations. j vlin Figure 1, the numeralwl'designates a source of supply of a continuous horizontal strip of material such as tough paper which may bedrawn as needed from a roll, not shown. After leaving the source of supply, this strip is cut scored at intervals as indicated at l I. The spacing of the scores I I determines thelength of the finished container, andthe scoresare'preferably interrupted in certainfportions as indicated'at I2'to provide suiiicientwtensile strength in the strip so that the paper will not pull apart prematurely at the score lineas it is being drawn from the source of supply.,

The strip scored and reversely folded longitudinally as indicated at 2| and 22 to form a central member'23 for the container. The member 23 forms the central rib or backbone for the container having a'verticalpartition wall or web of double thickness with'the fold 2| forming the top'edge thereof and the folds 22 defining a pair ofv `flaps orranges forming horizontal bottom Walls, 2'4 on opposite sides of the central wall.

The width of each'bottom r`wall 24 is preferably equal to aboutv half the diameter of the article to' b e wrappedwhen theartlicles are cylindrical. Itis preferred to havewadhesive material on both sides of this strip of stock'for heat sealing purposes; and so if the strip is of a'mat'erial such as paper Vwhich -does not possess inherent heat sealing properties it should be plastic coated on both sides. i' f The articles to be wrapped are then introduced in Ypairs'with one articleon each side of the central member 23 'and resting una bottom wall 24, as indicated by the two bottles 29 in Figure 2. While the first two bottlesare being brought into position; a pairV of spaced,` vertical strips of plastic 'or plastic "coated material are drawn from sources of supply 30 on opposite sides of the central member 23 to wraparound the'bottles in the manner shown: Asthese strips 30 progress from their sources of supply,'they are vertically fold scored and cut scored at intervals. The numerals 3l designate fold scores, and the numerals 32 designate cut scores which do not extend entirely across the sheet Ibut leave portions 33 of suiiicient strength to'prevent premature severance from the source of supply. These two vertical strips thereby form side sheets or members 35 for the container. The vertical fold score lines 3l deiine the lengths of .article containing loops or pockets 31 in the side members 35 and interposed bonding areas 35 for attachment of the side members to the' central member 23 between the bottles.

The side members 35 are rst attached at the portions 36 at their foremost ends by applying heatV to these portions in a manner well understood in the art of heat sealing materials while the portions are held against opposite sides of the member 23. Then the first two bottles 29 are moved into position, if they are not already there, and the side members 35 are wrapped around these twobottles to form the iirst pair of pockets 31 and place the next portions S5 simultaneously against opposite sides of the central member 23 for the next heat sealing operation, upon the completion of which the container appears as shown in Figure 3. v

A container may be madewhich is satisfactory for some purposes without any additional direct connection between the. pockets BLbut the structure may be considerably strengthened and stiiiened by bonding the adjacent pockets together at points in the vertical lineof contact designated at 39 in Figures 8 and .1.0. The shape of the article being wrapped and the type of bonding material employed willdetermine the nature of the bond or joint on this line, as there are Various ways of forming this connection. If a heat sealed bond is employed, a heat pressure ele ment maybe applied behindeach side member 35 when it is disposed in approximately the position shown in Figure 3 to obtain adhesion between the pockets 31 at spaced points such `as the top and bottom thereof or in substantially complete line contact extending the whole height .of the pockets. Conventional heat sealingmaterials are in cornmon usage which are well suited for this purpose as they stick immediately when heated and merely brought into contact so .that a good bond may be obtained even when it is formed by pressing the parts tog-ether against the side of a cold bottle. It is also possible to apply a wet glue wipe to the contacting surfaces and supply the necessary contact pressure to unite the surfaces by crowding the second pair of bottles against the Iirst pair. Even though this bond onthe vertical line 39 is effective only at the top and bottom edges of the pocket, or in other spots, it has a marked stiiening iniiuence on the container by prevent-- ingY relative movement of the adjacent pockets.

After the second pair oflbottles are moved into position and crowded against the iirst pair, the side members 35 arewrapped about these bottles in the same manner as the wrapping of the iirst pair of bottles, and the third sealing portions 36 "atthe cut scores Il and 32.v

the final endy portions; 35v are'boncledY to opposite sidesrof the central' member 23fand, the three members; are severed froml their strips-A of stock This operation leaves the container; with. its six bottles: in the partially completed conditionshown in Figure, 5, each bottle being wrapped in` an individual pocket.

In packaging certain kinds of materials it may be desirable, to include more thanf oney individual y'article in eachA pocket and', this; mayv easily be accomplished: byv wrapping eachV pocketV orloop of theY side members; 35 about 'any convenient number of articles ina group before bondingeach sealingportion 38 to the central member. It willalso be apparent that, the container. may be formed with only two or fourV pockets, or with as manyy as eight, ten or twelve pockets; as-v de.- sired.

Afterv the membersr 23 and 35 have been severed from' their supply strips I0 and 30, theV lat'- ter are available to start wrapping: another group of articles and the foregoing steps may be repeated to start the next package whilev the present one is being completed. The next package may be started even before. the severance oi members 23 and 35 and thenat theproper time the assembly of Figuremay be moved ahead orv to one side of the zone of operations justdescribed so as not to interfere with the forming ofthe following package.

' The container of Figure 5 is then ready for application of the combined bottom and end piece which is likewise formed from cut lengths of material from a single strip drawn from a sourceV of supply or` strip of stock 40, as shown in Figure 6. The, strip 4D is transversely fold scored at intervals as indicated at 4l and out scored on the lines 42, leaving portions 43 solidly attached to the supply strip for tension purposes to feed the stock. An individual bottom piece cut from this strip is designated generaily by the numeral 45 and has ends 46 which may be folded up on the score lines 4|'. The main bottom portion of the member- 45 is then introduced to the bottom of the assembly shown in Figure 5 where it is heat sealed or` otherwise suitably attached to the bottom parts` 24 of the central member 23, the. member 45 in the pres,- ent instance having a width equal to the combined width of the two bottom walls 24. The arrows in Figure 6 are intended merely to indi- VA cate the position in which the member 45 is applied to the bottom of the container and` not to the precise manner of manipulation to bring these elements together. The member 45 may be introduced to the bottom of they container in various ways in an automatic Wrapping machine depending upon the type of mechanism employed to move the bottles at this stage of the process. The member 45 may be introduced under the moving bottles to move along therewith in either sidewise movement or continued forward movement, or in any other suitable manner.

At about` the same time that the bottom member 45- is vbondedV to the naps 24 the ends; 4B are folded up and bonded to the outside of the end pockets and the quadruple edge. thicknessvk of material comprising the ends of members 23 and 35. When this is accomplished, the container is completed and appears as shown in Figure "1.l It; may be used inthis formfor some purposes,- but to serve as a bottle. carrier a handle 50 is attached as shown in Fgures; 9 and 10.

The handle may be formed off aJ folded stripof they samel material used for.. the other members of thecontainer,v or, itmaybe formedlof cord or any other suitable material. lfhe handlel 5,0 in the presentY embodiment is formed from, longitudinally foldedv plasticized paper which is: heat sealed to the end; portions 46 of the bottomrifiem',` ber. It is preferred to limit the upper` end. of this bond at a point 5I a half; inch or so below the top; edge of the container so that; the carrying stresses on the handle will not tend to tear the top edges of the end walls 46. When the containerfisto berusedA as arbottle carrier, the handle should be of such length that itwill normally bowl out to repose inV approximately the` position shownin full linesin Figure Sso as not to extend above. the tops of the bottles to become caught when the carriers or cases of the carriers;- are stacked. The handle should have sufficient length, however, toA assume approximately the position shown in brokenlines when the carrier isY lifted,v to allow space for a person-Vs hand between the handle and the tops of the bottles.

If the container is made of paper, only the centermember 23 and the handle need be plastic coated on both sides. For heat sealing purposes in bonding, the side members 35 need be coated only on the outside, and the combined bottom and end member 45 need not be coated at,l all. However, to obtain the maximum benefit of the water-proofing properties of the plastic material,

l ,all the strips of stock material may be plastic coated on both sides.

tic coating also enable articles to be refrigerated in paper containers without disintegration of the paper from condensation when it is removed from the, refrigerator. The plastic. coating is very desirable for bonding purposes.v because a strong joint may beI formed almost instantly upon the, application of heat by merely bringing the two surfaces, together without applying any particular pressure. The joints do not have to be held in position. to set slowly as with most other types of glue.. For bonding purposes, either one or both of the contacting surfaces may be plastic coated, but the bond is just as strong if only one, of the surfaces is coated.

If desired, the container may be still further strengthened and stiffened for use with heavy articles by applying a second bottom member having flaps tofold up on opposite sides of the container. Figure 11 shows an additional step in the process to form such a container, this step preferably, though not necessarily, following immediately after completion of the container to thecondition shown inv Figure 7, before thek han-` dle is applied, if the container is to have a handle. rI he second bottom member, 55, may be drawn out as a continuous horizontal` strip from roll stock in substantially the,l same manner as the strip.Y of stock lil?. The: two edges 55 represent severed cut scores transverse of the` strip, and the opposite edges 5'5, only one of which is visible in Figure 1'1,u consti-tute the sidev edges of the original strip before folding. The corners 58 are formed byl longitudinal fold; scores in the stript()y pro-videtwo side. flaps; 59:. The central ammesso or bottom portion of the member 55 is bonded to the iirst bottom'member 45 and the side flaps 59 are bonded to the three pockets 31 on each side of the container.

- The `additional bottom member 55 thereby provides a triple thickness of material under most of the base area of the container and serves also to reinforce and stiffen the pockets 31 to impart greater rigidity to the container as a whole. One or the other of the two bottom members 45,

'55, should be coated to establish a bond between these members, or the member 55, like the other members'may be plastic coated on both sides for waterproofing purposes.

It will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that either one or both of the bottom members 45, 55 may be formed from strip stock drawn out transversely to the longitudinal direction of the rst three strips IS, 3Q, 30, if desired, Without departing from the spirit of the invention. In an automatic packaging machine certain steps of the method may be carried out while the articles are in motion, and other operations may be performed while the articles, or certain ones of them, are temporarily at rest. Conict may be avoided between successive packages in diierent stages of completion by accelerating the motion of the articles at times and by changing the direction of movement, making it desirable in some cases to feed certain of the strips from different directions.

It will thus be apparent that the method of the invention is well adapted to the packaging of articles of various kinds as they are delivered or conveyed from a processing machine. package, or container, is formed complete, directly on the articles, from flat stock material which may be supplied from rolls whereby there are no prefabricated parts to be handled. The

forming and bonding manipulations are of a type which may easily be performed by automatic ap- -paratus coordinated with the article delivery mechanism. The containers made by this process arekin the nature of open cartons, or carriers, permitting the articles to be removed freely without impairing the future utility of the carriers. The carriers are sufciently durable for re-use and are considerably less expensive to make than the conventional cardboard or metal types.

Having new described my invention and in what manner the same may be used, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. The method of wrapping a plurality of articles in a single package comprising drawing a central strip and two outside strips of flexible sheet material into wrapping position from sources oi' supply, folding said central strip longitudinally to form a vertical partition with oppositely directed horizontal bottom wall portions, introducing said articles two at a time on said bottom wall portions on opposite sides of said partition and between said outer strips, looping said outer strips about said articles and uniting them on opposite sides of said partition after each pair of articles is introduced to form individual pockets progressively as additional articles are introduced, by drawing said strips from their sources of supply, then severing said strips from their sources of supply.

2. The method of packaging articles comprising forming a vertical central member with integral horizontal bottom wall portions, introducing said articles on said bottom wall portions and on both sides of said central member, looping outer strips Each t ofsheet material'ab'out said articles to form pockets, and attaching said outer strips to said central member between said pockets.

3. The method of packaging articles comprising folding a strip oi sheet material to form a vertical member of double thickness having oppositely directed horizontal bottom wall portions. introducing said articles on said bottom wall portions'and on both sides of said vertical member, looping strips of sheet material about said articles to form pockets on opposite sides of said vertical member, and attaching said looped strips to said vertical member between 'said pockets.

4. The method of making'a relatively stiff article package from exible sheet material comprising reversely folding a strip of said material to form a double thickness vertical wall member having oppositely directed horizontal bottom wall portions, looping strips of sheet material to form pockets on opposite sides of said wall member, and attaching said looped stripsy to said wall member between said pockets.

5. The'method of making a relatively stiii article carrierfrom flexible sheet material comprising longitudinally folding one strip of said materiall to form a double thickness vertical partition having oppositely directed single thickness bottom wall portions, introducing said articles on said bottom wall portions on both sides of said vertical partition, looping strips of sheet material about said articles to form pockets, and at-l taching said looped strips to said vertical partition between saidrpockets.

6. The method of packaging articles comprising disposing three strips of sheet material in spaced relation to receive saidarticles therebetween, folding the central'one of the three strips longitudinally to form a vertical Wall member with oppositely directed horizontal bottom wall portions, introducing said articles two at a time on said bottom Vwall portions on opposite sides of said vertical wall member looping the outer strips about the articles of each pair as they are introduced, and uniting said outer strips to saidvertical wall member after the introduction of each pair of articles to form individual pockets for the articles on opposite sides of said vertical wall member. f

7. The method of packaging articles comprising Adisposing three strips of sheet material in spaced relation to receive said articles therebetween, introducing said articles two at a time on oDDOsite sides of the central strip, looping the outer strips about the articles of each pair as they are introduced, uniting said outer strips to said central strip after the introduction of each pair ci articles to form individual pockets for the articles on opposite sides of the central strip, and uniting a combined bottom and end member with said Vertical members.

8. The method of packaging articles comprising forming a vertical, central member with outwardly directed horizontal base portions, assembling said articles on opposite sides of said central'member, wrapping side members around said articles and attaching said side members to said central member on both sides of each article, and then attaching a combined bottom and end member to the bottom portions of said central member and to end portions of said side members. Y 9. The method of packaging a plurality of articles comprising forming a vertical, central member with oppositely directed horizontal bottom portions, introducing the articles two at a time on opposite sides of said central member and on top of said bottom portions, wrapping side members about said articles as they are introduced to said central member and then attaching said side members to said central member after each such wrapping operation to define individual pockets for said articles, and attaching a combined bottom and end member to said previously mentioned members.

10. The method of packaging a plurality of articles comprising forming a vertical, central member having outwardly directed horizontal bottom portions, assembling the articles two at a time on opposite sides of said central member and resting on said bottom portions, wrapping side members around said articles and attaching said side members to said central member between the articles to form a pocket for each article, attaching adjacent pockets together at their points of contact, forming a bottom member with integral upstanding end portions, attaching said bottom member to the bottom portions of said central member, and attaching said end portions to the end pockets formed by said side members.

11. The method of packaging articles comprising folding a hat sheet of material to form vertical web and horizontal flange portions, positioning said articles on said flange portion and against said web portion, looping a flat strip of material about said articles and securing said strip to said web portion between said articlesto form a predetermined number of pockets for said articles, folding a flat sheet of material to form a bottom member with upturned end portions, securing said bottom member to said ilange portion, and securing said upturned end portions to the end pockets of said looped strip.

l2. The method of making a relatively stiff article holder from flexible sheet material comprising folding a strip of said material longitudinally to form a vertical wall member with oppositely directed horizontal bottom wall portions, looping strips of said material to form pockets on opposite sides of said Wall member attaching said side strips to said wall member between said pockets, folding a sheet of material to form a bottom member with integral upstanding end portions, and attaching said end portions to the end pockets of the holder.

- 13. The method of making a relatively stiff article container from flexible sheet material comprising folding a strip of said material to form a vertical wall member with oppositely directed horizontal bottom wall portions, looping side strips to form pockets on opposite sides of said partition, attaching said side strips to said partition between said pockets, folding a strip to form a bottom member with integral upstanding end walls, securing said bottom member to said bottom wall portions, securing said end walls to the end pockets of the container, and securing the ends of a handle to said end walls. V

14. The method of making a relatively stiff article carrier from flexible sheet material comprising longitudinally folding a strip of said material to form a double thickness vertical partition having oppositely directed horizontal bottom Wall portions, looping strips of said sheet material to form pockets on opposite sides of said partition, attaching said looped strips to said partition between said pockets, folding a strip of said material to form a bottom member with upstanding end walls, securing said end walls to the end pockets of the container, and attaching a handle to the carrier at the ends of said Vertical partition.

EDGAR F. CADMUS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

`UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,413,064 Salsberg Apr. 18, 1922 2,223,754 Waters Dec. 3, 1940 2,276,282 Bindszus Mar. 17, 1942 2,350,930 Salsberg June 6, 1944 2,379,935 Seiferth et al. July 10, 1945 2,433,676 Ringler Dec. 30, 1947 

